By Dave DeWitt

In Jamaica, this sauce is served over a wide variety of fish and even lobster. It is such a tasty sauce that it is wonderful when served over pasta. The term “rundown” (“oildown” in Barbados and Trinidad) refers to cooking vegetables in coconut milk until most of the milk is absorbed, leaving a light oil.

A table condiment to similar to ketchup--but much more pungent--sriracha sauce is named after a seaside town in Thailand. Increasingly popular, this sauce is found on the tables of Thai and Vietnamese restaurants all over North America. Fresh red chiles are the key to the flavor of this recipe.

A table condiment to similar in appearance to ketchup--but much more pungent--sriracha sauce is named after a seaside town in Thailand. Increasingly popular, this sauce is found on the tables of Thai and Vietnamese restaurants all over North America. Fresh red chiles are the key to the flavor of this recipe.

This recipe, which I found in a 1940s Trinidadian cookbook, is probably one of the earliest methods of preserving peppers in the tropics. It is also called “pepper wine.” The sherry, which gradually picks up heat from the bird peppers, is sprinkled into soups and stews and makes them quite exotic. The peppers can be either fresh or dried. It is used as a condiment and is sprinkled over soups, main dishes, and side dishes. Note: This recipe requires advance preparation.

This recipe was collected for me in Mombasa, Kenya by Richard Sterling, who wrote: “The barbecue master at the Big Bite Restaurant in Mombasa is Tsuma Nzole Kalu. He concocted this recipe for hot sauce and gave it its name. Serve it over grilled or barbecued meats and poultry.”

Mit mit a, an Ethiopian spice mixture, is used to spice up and flavor stews, or w'ets. It is made from the small and hot African chiles that we know as piquins and is sprinkled over raw meat (kitfo), especially lamb.

This stock is good enough to serve as a first course consommé, in addition to using it as a basis for some of the recipes that follow. Baking or caramelizing the vegetables before adding the water gives an additional richness to the stock. If you wish, adding a 1 to 2 inch piece of kombu seaweed will also add a further depth of flavor. This stock will keep for 2 days, covered, in the refrigerator. It can also be frozen; divide it into 2- or 3-cup freezer containers. Feel free to add any vegetable trimmings from the bag in your freezer, but beware of cabbage or broccoli, whose flavors tend to dominate the stock.

This recipe dates to 1976, when W.C. created it for his first restaurant, the Morning Glory Cafe. It is meatless and dairyless, but "designed for a meat-eater's taste," according to W.C. It is easily frozen or canned.

Featured Rapid Recipe

Indonesia grows goats rather than sheep, yet "mutton' was the meat of choice in the wet market of Little India in Singapore, so I can only assume that this delicious, curry-like soup can be made from either lamb or goat meat. The recipe is courtesy of Mrs. Devagi Shanmugam of the Thomson Cooking Studio. Find more recipes and read about Dave DeWitt's Singapore trip in the article Singapore Fling By Dave De Witt